


Where Heroes Are Made

by Alice_h



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fantasy, Gen, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23398696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_h/pseuds/Alice_h
Summary: The College for Heroic Enterprise: A place, rich in history, where the heroes of the world learn to make the most of their skills and abilities for the good of the entire population. . At least that’s what the brochure says. While its competitors are known for their strict entry requirements and rigorous codes of conduct (not to mention the sky-high fees), the CHE has a less-than-stellar reputation. It’s the place that takes in the freaks, the failures – anyone who can’t meet the exacting standards of the others.Adora Freeborn was certain she'd get into an elite college. The sword she found in a forest gave her the ability to transform into a mighty warrior woman. But fate had other ideas, and her rejection has left her standing in the grounds of the College for Heroic Enterprise. Still, with enough determination to succeed and some good students to work with, she's sure she'll be just as successful. At least, if her ex-best friend Catra wasn't there too.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Where Heroes Are Made

**Author's Note:**

> So this is heavily influenced by Freaks' Squeele and The Secret World, but hopefully they're obscure enough that it feels like something original ;)
> 
> I wrote this pretty much all today because I'd hit a brick wall with my other fic. It's not the greatest, I'm kind of challenging myself to move into a setting I'm not so confident in, but hopefully is worth a look (and it should get more exciting in the future).

The College for Heroic Enterprise: A place, rich in history, where the heroes of the world learn to make the most of their skills and abilities for the good of the entire population. Students learn all aspects of heroics, from power development to costume design to public image management. At least that’s what the brochure says. While its competitors are known for their strict entry requirements and rigorous codes of conduct (not to mention the sky-high fees), the CHE has a less-than-stellar reputation. It’s the place that takes in the freaks, the failures – anyone who can’t meet the exacting standards of the other hero schools. As a result, merely the name ‘College for Heroic Enterprise’ has long been synonymous with low standards – even most of the students are embarrassed to admit they go there.

Adora Freeborn was sure that her application for a scholarship at L’Ecole de Sainte Marie would be accepted. It was _the_ place to go to guarantee a future, the best of the best. And ever since the day she had discovered a sword in a forest that allowed her to transform into a giant warrior, she had her heart set on ESM – she’d even bought a sweater with their logo on so she’d be easily identifiable as a student on the first day she set foot inside. She planned her future out, all starting from the moment she graduated from this élite college. Her confidence truly believed that seeing her raise the sword aloft in the entrance interview would result in immediate acceptance, but from the moment she walked in, Adora knew that no matter what she did, they were always going to say no. She could have been the most powerful person in the world, able to cure diseases with a touch of her hand and capable of defeating all evil in two seconds flat, but the stuck-up trio of school management who sat opposite her weren’t able to look beyond her background. Her family was poor, there was no better way to put it, and that simply wasn’t “the type of student L’Ecole de Sainte Marie was looking for”.

Receiving that rejection letter meant her entire future had been ripped to shreds and she’d cried solidly for a week after that, even considering burying the sword right back where she found it so that someone else could take on the responsibility of becoming She-Ra. That damned sword had been the catalyst for some of the worst moments of her life. It wasn’t just that she’d let the sword build her hopes up for a bright future at ESM, only to have them come crashing down around her, it had also cost her a good friend: Catra.

Catra was her best friend most of the way through childhood. She was rebellious, sarcastic and cared little for school, a total contrast to the studious Adora, but she could also be the sweetest, most caring person and was fiercely loyal to boot. Even though Catra had some supernatural abilities – she was a were-cat, capable of transforming into a ferocious animal – the fact that Adora didn’t never caused any trouble to the balance in their friendship. She was never made to feel lesser just because she had no power of her own, although that didn’t stop her from the feelings of inferiority created by her own brain. Catra had the ability to become a feral wildcat, and that would give her a bright future at one of the hero colleges. Adora was just a regular person who would go to a regular college and end up with a regular job, and she couldn’t stand that idea. She wanted to be someone.

It all changed one late summer afternoon in the forest near her home, where her eye was caught by the light reflecting off something in the soil, something that she could sense held an immense power. Adora wasted no time in dropping to the floor, scrabbling in the dirt to try and reveal whatever lay there. It took a good hour to fully unearth it, but before long a dusty sword lay in front of her, almost magnetic in the way it drew her in. She wasn’t sure how, but Adora felt like the blade was communicating with her, placing words in her mind: ‘for the honour of Grayskull’. The words felt familiar to her, yet she knew she’d never heard them before. She let them wash around her head, the meaning, the inflection, the _feel_ of the words; then she did something that changed her life.

Placing one hand on the sword, Adora checked around her to make sure she was alone, then spoke the phrase out loud. Immediately, a blinding flash of light surrounded her, and she could feel every drop of the power she had sensed becoming part of her. The height difference was the first big shock – while she was pretty tall for a 14-year-old, suddenly seeing the world from eight foot up almost gave her vertigo. Her clothes changed, too, the hoodie and jeans swapped for a brilliant white dress with a gold motif embroidered on it, while a red cape appeared on her back. The transformation had been terrifying – she was worried that whatever she’d just done would be permanent, and that she’d be stuck towering over everyone else for the rest of her life. It was only when her distress caused her to fumble and drop the sword, returning her back exactly as she had been, that Adora fully calmed down.

She couldn’t wait to tell Catra about her discovery. Though she would need to do a lot more investigation into the sword, if it gave her the ability to become taller and stronger like it had the first time, then it put the two of them on a more even standing. The possibilities flowed through her mind: the two of them could team up and put their powers to good use – after all, a giant woman with a sword and a formidable big cat with equally massive teeth and claws would be able to see off bad guys with ease. Adora was certain Catra would see the potential too, that she’d be so proud of her and both having abilities would bring them closer together, but the were-cat’s reaction was disgust. Catra was jealous – Adora was suddenly much more powerful than she was, and she hated it. Their friendship came to an abrupt halt, Catra seemingly overnight worming her way into the esteem of a bad gang led by a young demon girl by the name of Lonnie.

Even though the sword had taken her best friend and her brightest future, once the initial period of depression had passed, Adora became even more determined to make it as a hero. The College for Heroic Enterprise, though it had a reputation, would still be able to educate her in the type of studies she wanted. If she engaged with the work and made sure to attend every lecture, then she would succeed in becoming the person she wanted to be. Enrolling was simple – just an online form that took about ten minutes to complete – and she was accepted almost immediately, spurring her into action. She bought and pored over the recommended textbooks, practised her fighting skills and prepared everything she would need for college life and to be able to graduate at the top of her class.

And now that first day is here. The imposing towers of the college building standing over her, the hubbub of hundreds of students rushing past her, the smell of… ugh. She assumes the staff must be rather lenient when it comes to smoking drugs, but that doesn’t bother Adora too much. She won’t have time for that sort of thing; she’s going to be the best student she can be, from the very first moment of the very first lecture, an introduction to the CHE with Principal Angella la Lune in lecture hall 1. Despite knowing exactly where to go, Adora still opens up the folder she’s carrying several times to look at the map, as though the layout of the college might have changed in the three minutes since she checked it coming out of her dorm room.

Adora is not the first one to arrive, there’s a smattering of students dotted around, but far from the last. Unsurprising, given that she’s fifteen minutes early – she left early to give herself time to arrange her things on the desk in front of her: a fresh writing pad, ready to be filled with her notes on everything the teachers say, a pencil and eraser, and two fountain pens, the second there in case the first fails. The lecture hall begins to fill up over the next dozen or so minutes, and Adora quickly finds herself joined by a short, pink-haired girl with large wings folded behind her back, then a nervous guy with dark hair, who looks somewhat more ordinary. She knows from looking online how important making friends during these first few days is, how the bonds that form now can have repercussions throughout the rest of her time at the college. If they’re given a group project, the people sat beside her could make the difference between an A and a C. There are lower grades, of course, but even if these two do absolutely nothing, Adora’s input alone would be worth at least a C. Either way, she knows it’s imperative to find out whether they’re going to help or hinder her in her determination to succeed.

“Hi,” she grins. It’s not the best greeting she could have managed, and she’s silently kicking herself for the poor first impression. How many college friendships started with a simple, almost emotionless ‘hi’ and then a silence that is entirely too long? None, she supposes.

“Hi,” an equally uncomfortable pause follows the girl’s response. She doesn’t even look up.

Adora clears her throat to try again, “My name’s Adora Freeborn, it’s wonderful to meet you both. I’m guessing from those wings you are some kind of angelic being?”

“Ha!” it’s not so much a laugh as a derisive scoff that comes from the girl’s mouth, “In physical form only. Glimmer. Glimmer la Lune.”

“La Lune? As in ‘Principal Angella la Lune’?”

Glimmer rolls her eyes, “Yes, that’s my mother. Don’t make a big thing of it… God knows she doesn’t.”

“I think it’s great,” Adora analyses several possibilities in her mind, wondering if becoming friends with the principal’s daughter could result in some extra tuition from the head herself, “Must have its advantages though?”

“Nope. When I’m here, she’s ‘Principal la Lune’ to me, just as she is to you. I don’t get any special treatment.”

That’s somewhat disappointing for Adora to hear, and she can feel those extra special assignments slipping from her grasp. Maybe the quiet young man sat the other side of Glimmer will give her something better, “And you? You look... normal.”

“Um, thanks?” he pulls backwards, squinting at Adora as he tries to work out whether she was complimenting or insulting him, “You… do as well?”

“Not all the time. I’ve got a sword that makes me an eight-foot warrior lady – do you have one too?”

“Do I have a sword that makes me a giant woman? No. No I don’t. But I do have some pretty decent archery skills, and I know _everything_ about magical creatures. My dads owned a library that specialised in that sort of subject, so I grew up around it and I’ve read hundreds of books on them. My name’s Bow, by the way, Bow Cassini.”

It’s significantly more reassuring to Adora to discover that Bow is as much of a nerd as she is, and the smile on her face says it all. A bookworm and the principal’s daughter has to make for a formidable team, and she lets her mind run away with the possibilities: the projects they would work on together, the long revision sessions in the library, the As they will undoubtedly receive. Who needs L’École de Sainte Marie? The College for Heroic Enterprise is going to be the place Adora becomes who she’s destined to be.

“Bow and Glimmer. Yeah, I think I’ll remember those names.”


End file.
